Light of the Shadows
by Dawnlight25
Summary: Badgerkit, a kit born in ShadowClan. His father, the leader of his Clan. A she-cat, seeking revenge on Badgerkit's father. Peace treaties between the Clans. Trading apprentices. A terrible accident. Death and pain to many. A story. The story of Badgerkit, the kit who used to have more than anyone, then had suddenly lost everything. (I don't like summaries, read the story.)
1. Allegiances

**Hai everyone! I am accepting OCs to every clan! Please submit some of your OCs before all the spots fill in. Include the name, clan and appearance of your cat. Thank you! Read and review! Dawnlight out.**

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 **ALLEGIANCES:**

LEADER:

DARKSTAR - Long-furred dark grey tom with amber-orange eyes

DEPUTY:

BREEZECLAW - White tom with blue eyes (Temporary replacement deputy, filling in for Haileye)

MEDICINE CAT:

CEDARSKY - Brown tom with strange blue eyes

MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE:

BLACKBERRY - Young black she-cat with leaf-green eyes

WARRIORS:

EAGLESTRIDE - Flecked brown tom with yellow eyes and white underbelly

ACORNFUR - Small light brown she cat with dark brown tail and amber eyes

SANDYSCAR - Sandy colored she-cat with one green eye and one amber eye and a long scar on left flank

SOOTFANG - Black and gray tom with dark blue eyes

DUSTYFEATHER - Tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

CREEKLEAP - Brown calico tom with green eyes

FROGHOP - Brown tabby tom with pale green eyes

SPRUCEWHISKER - Ginger she-cat with long whiskers and green eyes

PIGEONSTORM - Gray tom with blue eyes

FERRETTAIL - Gray and white tom with amber eyes

IVYHEART - Tortoiseshell she cat with green eyes

FOXSTEM - Orange she-cat with wiry fur and dull amber eyes

APPRENTICES:

NEWTPAW - Gray tom with amber-orange eyes

PINEPAW - Long-furred brown tabby she-cat with big green eyes

QUEENS:

HAILEYE - Black, grey and white, spiky furred calico she-cat with sharp ice blue eyes, Kits: Waspkit, Rustkit, Cloverkit, Badgerkit

PALESHINE - Light brown and cream she-cat with pale green eyes, Kits: Frostedkit, Blizzardkit, Lionkit

KITS:

WASPKIT - Black tom with yellow eyes

RUSTKIT - Reddish brown tom with amber eyes

CLOVERKIT - White and black she-cat with leaf-green eyes

BADGERKIT - Black tom with white stripe running from head to tip of tail, leaf-green eyes

FROSTEDKIT - Pretty, long-furred white she-cat with blue eyes

BLIZZARDKIT - Pretty, long-furred gray tabby she-cat with white legs and flecks, sky-blue eyes

LIONKIT - Golden, spiky furred tom with hazel eyes

ELDERS:

DARKSTONE - Black tom with dull blue eyes

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 **I'LL DO THE REST OF THE ALLEGIANCES LATER. Don't feel like it now. :3 Please review and submit some OCs! Thanks! See ya laterz!**


	2. Prologue and Chapter 1

**Halo everyone! I'd like to say thank you to everyone for successfully surviving to the age they are now. SPECIAL NOTICE FOR THOSE WHO REVIEWED: THANK YOU to Duskclaw of RiverClan, Queen Eradrin, Willowleaf the Jedi, and me (Yes, I reviewed my own story)! You are da first reviewers! Congrats! Note: Your cookies will be baked and given the next chapter, just so that they're fresh! ;D**

 **I'm announcing a new challenge! Eligible to everyone... Introducing the Cookie Character challenge!**

 **Cookie Character (:::)C Challenge**

 **To participate, you must submit OCs in your reviews! :3 Note: I am not accepting any more ShadowClan OCs. Each OC will be added to the Allegiances around Christmas time, the deadline of this challenge. Every OC will be entered into a raffle. The 9 winning OCs will participate in Badgerpaw's first gathering. Please include name, Clan, rank, and personality of your OC. Note 2: Whoever submits an OC first will get the rank they want. For example, 3 people's OCs are deputies. The person who submits their OC first will earn the spot. Everyone gets a cookie per OC they submit! (:::) (:::)**

 **Thanks! Enjoy da story! READ AND REVIEW PLZ! ^-^**

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Prologue:

A calico she-cat sat in the darkness. A familiar scent breezed by. She stiffened, angry amber eyes burning in the starlit darkness, then whisked up a pine tree quicker than a squirrel. In the center of a bright clearing was a dark grey tom, a deputy, accompanied by a fluffy brown medicine cat. The she-cat flexed her claws, scarring the branch she sat upon _._ Starry-pelted warriors appeared around the dark tom. She bared her teeth. _No! He cannot be leader!_ The tortoiseshell's fur bristled angrily as she sat in a storm of not-so-happy-maybe-evil thoughts.

A small white tom with fierce eyes padded up to the deputy. The she-cat strained her ears to catch a few words. "With this life, I give you the gift of bravery. Use it well to protect your Clan at the darkest of times." the white tom murmured, touching his nose to the soon-to-be leader. The dark tom's eyes glowed bright amber-orange, and he seemed to stand up a little taller for a moment. _He_ _did nothing good to become leader... He is weak. He does not know the meaning of true strength. StarClan is wrong!_

A wild furred brown she-cat stood before the grey tom. "With this life, I give you the gift of it well to..." The calico she-cat drowned the voices of the remaining live-givers in her world of hate and fury. The sounds outside her melted into the voices of innocent cries of pain and fear, begging for mercy. Hot tears began to stream across the she-cat's bitter face.

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A big, pale golden she-cat dipped her head to the dark grey tom. "I hail you by your new name, Darkstar. Your old life is no more," the golden she-cat said. "You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of ShadowClan _._ Defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; live each life with pride and dignity. You are now the true leader of ShadowClan." She finished. StarClan cats cheered his new name. Only the tortoiseshell did not. She decided to do something a little different... As the StarClan cats began to disintegrate, the she-cat landed gracefully behind the dark grey tom.

"Darkstar." she snarled, voice bitter with hate and eyes gleaming with fury. The tom stiffened fur bristling with alarm. Then he turned to face her, almost with a hint of a smile.

"Snowfire. Nice to see you again. Did you hear I became leader?" the tom replied evenly. He licked his long grey fur. "You know what I did was the right thing. It was the best thing that ever happened to ShadowClan."

The calico she-cat's eyes were now a wild, dangerous, glowing amber. Her claws unsheathed, but she did not attack. "What you did was _never_ the right thing! You are the most vile creature to live in this forest. You should be _dead._ " the tortoiseshell snarled.

The leader laughed. "You're the one who's dead now. While I live with 9 lives, you stay in this measly place like a little mouse-heart, not able to do _anything_ about me, my Clan, my family and my future kits, who will eventually take my place."

The she-cat flinched suddenly, as if a deep pain hidden inside her was suddenly unearthed. Her fur bristled and her teeth were bared, ready to pounce. The tom waited for her calmly. Then the calico's bared teeth formed a sly, crooked smile. The grey leader shifted uneasily, unsure what was happening. It was her turn to laugh.

"Your _kits_. What an utterly wonderful idea. They will be your weakness. After what you've done to me, it's only fair... Remember this, Darkstar. I doubt you'll have an easy time forgetting..." The tom unsheathed his claws and leaped. Too late. There was nothing he could do now...

The tortoiseshell she-cat began to dissolve, wearing the same smile and fierce eyes ready for revenge. "Darkstar. You will regret everything you have brought upon me... No cat can understand my pain just yet. I will make you feel the same pain. It's too late, Dark _kit._ You're powerless under my claws." She dissolved into thin air. Her burning amber gaze seemed to stay a little longer, following Darkstar wherever he went...

" _You'll regret everything you have brought upon me..."_

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Badgerkit opened his emerald green eyes. Shaking his fluffy pelt, he rolled over his littermates. "Wake up, guys!" he exclaimed. "Look, Paleshine's litter is already outside!" Cloverkit stirred and sat up.

"Frostedkit and Blizzardkit are awake? Okay! Let's play!" Cloverkit agreed, prodding the rest of her littermates like Badgerkit.

Lionkit blinked. "We're too old to play. We're gonna be apprentices soon! I'm not playing." Their mother, Haileye grunted in agreement.

Badgerkit snorted. "Apprentices or not, everyone has to have a little fun! Even Newtpaw and Pinepaw are playing! See?" Badgerkit pointed his tail towards the two play-fighting apprentices.

"Well, if that's what you call playing, you ought to do it everyday. Training for battle makes you a stronger, better warrior." Haileye said.

Cloverkit cracked a smile, looking from Lionkit to Pinepaw.

"You're just excited to share dens with _Pinepaw_." she teased playfully.

"Am not!" retorted Lionkit, who pounced on Cloverkit. The two kits rolled right into Badgerkit, getting him into their game.

"Hey!" protested Badgerkit. He swiped a paw at Lionkit and Gingerkit. Soon there was a storm of kits wrestling in camp. Badgerkit flew into Frostedkit and Blizzardkit, closely followed be Rustkit. Frostedkit squeaked in alarm and anger. Blizzardkit swatted a paw at Badgerkit playfully, then shoved her protesting sister into the fight.

Darkstone padded out of the Elder's den. "Keep it down! If you haven't noticed, I've been trying to get some sleep here," he snapped. "Ain't it your ceremony today? Start acting like dignified warriors." Pinepaw shot them an amused glance and flicked her tail. Vinestep poked his head out of the den with a challenging glance, looking at Pinepaw. "You too, Pinepaw! Don't think I didn't hear ya fighting with Newtpaw earlier." _Wow! Today's our ceremony! Dad never told us! I wonder who my mentor will be..._

Waspkit paid no attention. "Today's our ceremony? ... Today's our ceremony!" His yellow eyes widened.

Cedarkit rolled his eyes and sat down.

Rustkit flexed his tiny claws. "I bet dad's gonna give me the best warrior as my mentor!" he bragged.

"Maybe he'll give you Robinheart as your mentor. Then she can teach you to shut up." said Cedarkit. His two sisters, Blizzardkit and Frostedkit giggled.

"No way! I bet his mentor's gonna be a _medicine cat_." Waspkit retorted, laughing. Badgerkit wrinkled his nose. _I would never become a medicine cat! I'll be the best warrior ever to live in the four Clans!_

A thundering voice addressed the Clan, interrupting Rustkit's stinging retort. A dark grey tom looked down from the Highledge. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting." yowled Darkstar. Cats poured into the clearing.

Waspkit and Rustkit were still arguing excitedly about their mentors. Cloverkit bounced under the Highledge, squeaking in excitement. Lionkit sat happily, somewhat near Newtpaw and Pinepaw, much to Cloverpaw's amusement.

Badgerkit grinned and sat by his littermates. Frostedkit and Blizzardkit came, sitting near him. "Congrats," whispered Blizzardkit. "I can't wait to be an apprentice!" Blizzardkit brushed against his ear momentarily, smiling.

Frostedkit swished her fluffy white tail. "When I become an apprentice, wanna train together sometime?" She mewed, eyes sparkling blue. Blizzardkit opened her mouth to speak. She was cut off by Badgerkit's father.

"I've gathered you all here for an important meeting," Darkstar announced. "There is a peace offering the Clan leaders are considering. It's far from official, but I wanted to inform you all about it." Badgerkit blinked, disappointed that he wasn't an apprentice yet. His littermates muttered quietly, unlike the curious glances of his Clanmates.

"In the peace offering, apprentices will switch Clans..." Mixed murmurs of anger and approval rippled through the Clans. _What!? That's not fair!_ Badgerkit growled quietly.

A small brown she-cat spoke out. The leader raised his tail for silence, allowing only her to speak. "Darkstar, I don't believe this peace treaty is... Beneficial." She said. "I don't think sending our _own_ ShadowClan apprentices to live in other Clans is going to do much, with all due respect." The she-cat dipped her head to Darkstar and looked at him, before moving away from the attention of her Clanmates. Badgerkit agreed with the she-cat. She could be snappy sometimes, but Badgerkit thought she was quite wise.

Darkstar dipped his head in acknowledgement of her comment. "I understand your concerns, Robinheart," replied the tom thoughtfully. "I'll ask the other leaders if the apprentices can come back after a moon or two. I'd think the apprentices' maximum time away from their Clan would be about a season." A sense of agreement seemed to grip the whole Clan. Badgerkit frowned. _A whole season away from here!? I can't believe Dad would send some of us to other Clans..._

"We'll put this matter aside. Now is the time for my kits to be apprenticed!" Darkstar declared proudly. Badgerkit and his littermates stood proudly. Badgerkit didn't feel as proud as he looked. _Why do the apprentices have to be switched around!? Seriously, what kind of peace treaties are there nowadays!?..._

His father's voice snapped him back to reality. "Waspkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." Waspkit stepped forward, hoping to get a better mentor than Rustkit. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Wasppaw. Your mentor will be Sandyscar. I hope Sandyscar will pass down all she knows on to you."

Sandyscar stared at Wasppaw with more interest (Not that she wasn't interested... OK maybe...). Darkstar beckoned for Sandyscar to come up. "Sandyscar, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Vinestep, and you have shown yourself to be brave and loyal. You will be the mentor of Wasppaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." Sandyscar and Wasppaw touched noses, then stepped away to make room for the next apprentice. The ShadowClan cats cheered Wasppaw's new name a couple of times before turning their attention to Cloverkit.

Cloverkit licked her fur quickly, then bounded gracefully to her father, Darkstar. "Cloverkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." Cloverkit's green eyes glowed with excitement and anticipation. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cloverpaw. Your mentor will be Eaglestride. I hope Eaglestride will pass down all he knows on to you." Rustkit scowled, because he wanted to have Eaglestride for mentor. Wasppaw stomped his paw on the ground, getting a well earned glare from Sandyscar. Cloverpaw winked, grinning at her brothers. Badgerkit rolled his eyes, but couldn't help flashing a smile.

Darkstar continued, "Eaglestride, please step forward," The great warrior stood beside Cloverpaw. "Eaglestride, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Sootfang, and you have shown yourself to be a good fighter and a trustable warrior. You will be the mentor of Cloverpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." Cloverpaw touched noses with Eaglestride, bouncing around happily on her white paws. Blizzardkit smiled at Cloverpaw's outbreak of paws and excitement. Frostedkit looked at her own paws, ignoring Cloverpaw.

 _Is it my turn yet?_ Darkstar called up Rustkit. _Oh. Mouse-dung._ Rustkit padded forward, aiming a look at Waspkit that probably meant "Ready? Here comes my win...". His father spoke again, interrupting Rustkit and Waspkit's glare conversation. "Rustkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." Rustkit puffed out his chest proudly. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rustpaw. Your mentor will be..." All the kits stared in anticipation. Rustkit's big eyes flicked from warrior to warrior, gleaming with curiousity.

"Robinheart." Darkstar announced. Badgerkit and his littermates were holding back howls of laughter. Rustkit flattened his ears and shuffled his paws, not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Told you so!" whispered an amused Cedarkit.

"Nice one, Cedarkit!" Blizzardkit mumbled, grinning.

"I can't believe you were _actually_ right!" Frostedkit said. Badgerkit nodded in agreement with the two she-cats.

Darkstar spoke again and called up the brown speckled she-cat, saying, "Robinheart, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Darkstone, and you have shown yourself to be very wise and and loyal. You will be the mentor of Rustpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." Robinheart and an ashamed Rustkit touched noses, then moved away.

Badgerkit met the gaze of his father, Darkstar, excitedly. Darkstar's gaze was bright and proud, yet something was underneath it... _Regret? Fear?_ Badgerkit shook the thoughts away. _I probably just imagined it... Probably._ Badgerkit was called up by Darkstar. _I'm going to be an apprentice!_ He walked up the Highledge and stood beside his father. Darkstar said, _"_ Badgerkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." Badgerkit stood proudly. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Badgerpaw. Your mentor will be Breezeclaw." _Woah! I get to have the_ deputy _as my mentor?! Cool!_ The other kits and apprentices gasped muttering things like "Wow!" or "Lucky!" and the occasional "No fair!" from Rustkit.

Breezeclaw stepped forward. He smiled at Badgerpaw. _He smiled. He smiled! Well, there's always a first for everything..._ "Breezeclaw, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You had received excellent training from Shadedheart, and you have shown yourself to be a powerful warrior and a great deputy. You will be the mentor of Badgerpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." Badgerpaw touched noses with Breezeclaw, putting on his best look of determination and awesomeness.

The two cats joined the other newly named apprentices. The Clan cheered for them, shouting "Wasppaw! Cloverpaw! Rustpaw! Badgerpaw!". Little did anyone know, a calico she-cat sat on the edge of camp, amber eyes glowing with revenge. "So, is it that one? Badgerpaw? Darkstar's favorite?"

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 **DUN DUN DUN... Revenge strikes again! Thank you for reading this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW AND SUBMIT YOUR OWN CHARACTERS! (:::) Yeah! Note: Yes I know this chapter is pretty short and boring... Just wait for the next chappie! YAY! Meep. Question: What d'ya think about the whole "Peace treaty trading apprentices"? **

**Dawnlight25**


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